The Rouge
by Kotahsouras
Summary: Red knew they would come looking for her- Batman AND now her new enemies, the Rogues. When she enrolls in a High School under the fake name "Rouge Henderson" and befreinds Tim, what lengths will she go to to keep her secret? OC St. Sequel to Stained Red.
1. The Prolouge

Two months. TWO MONTHS. Red pulled her hair back into a high ponytail, slipping on a silk red shirt with a plunging V-neck line and a pair of dark blue skinny jeans that hugged her curves JUST right. Then she stepped into a good pair of black flats. Her ivory skin clashed against her black hair, and her fierce golden pupils where almost hidden beneath her feather-duster eyelashes.

Two months. Two months since she had gone into hiding.

Two months since she had enrolled as an orphan into North Gotham High School, also known as NGHS, or North High.

Two months she had been planning revenge. Against her two newest enemies. Batman… and the Rogues.

Her name was supposed to be 'Rouge Henderson'; Rouge in French means Red. Little Red was pretty proud of herself for knowing that little tidbit.

She peered outside of the fancy mansion that she had… 'Acquired', then turned back to her dusty mirror. She only felt a slight pang of pity at the thought of the friendly old woman who owned the place. Well, she was dead now. No need to feel sorrow for those destroyed by us.

With a deep red lipstick she made her lips a full, royal red. Then, slowly, she turned to her bed.

A red dress with black dots and a long, red hood lay folded neatly on the bed spread. Her heels where in the closet.

A horn honked outside, and she whipped around. Putting in two red ruby studs in her ears, she headed out the door.

In an old, slightly rusted black car a boy with slightly ruffled black hair and bright blue eyes looked around slightly impatiently.

Tim Drake frowned into the rear view mirror. "C'mon Rouge!" he called once he caught sight of her, and waved to the passenger seat.

Rouge slipped into the seat with a slight frown. This was Tim Drake, her 'friend'. Granted, he was pushy most of the time and boyish and slightly annoying… but she didn't feel the constant need to stab him and rip out his eyes like with most of those other idiotic school children. "Calm down." She rolled her fierce golden eyes.

"All IM saying is that if I am late to Ms. Jenkins's class again because you are applying 'lipstick', I will be so mad I will-"

"What are you going to do this time?" she asked. He did this every day. Old news.

Tim went silent and she once again sighed. "Fine." He snapped. "Just… let's get going."

"Are we still trying to beat the record?"

"When ARENT we?" and he floored the gas- but the thought of how MAD Batman would be if he found out Robin was speeding bit at him a little too harshly.

**Yes, Red is alive and hiding… and waiting for revenge on her enemies. I'm sure she didn't expect to become 'friends' with the sidekick of her enemy, huh? Come back for more- because you WILL be hungry for it.**


	2. The Glimpse

Tim walked Red into the school, chatting animatedly as Red frowned and looked around. She surveyed and scanned every person in the hall, sizing up every figure, every wit, and every possible enemy.

_*Keep on your toes- they will find you eventually.*_ that whispery voice in her head hissed in her ear. She nodded a very small nod in response.

"What do you think?" Tim looked at her quizzically, expecting an answer.

_*He asked you how you think he will do on the test.*_ the nasty voice affirmed to her, and she sighed.

"Just keep your head clear- you cannot succeed in anything if you don't pay attention." She scolded her own mistake and Tim thought of how she sounded like Batman. This made him smile.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Red looked up at him.

"No reason."

At the third period bell she was released into lunch- she felt a slight 'pang' every time she ate in the cafeteria… it reminded her of Arkham. Arkham Asylum, when she believed that she fit in with the other villains.

They had all lied to her.

They would all pay.

Starting with Scarecrow.

_*Revenge is the key, dearest child.*_ the voice hissed in her ear. _*Revenge will keep you alive!*_

"Rouge?" Tim's voice made the voice disappear, and Rouge turned to see him walking up behind her. "You okay? You like, just stopped walking in the middle of the hallway…"

"I'm fine." She muttered, but did not keep walking. "Hey… I really don't think I can eat today." She mumbled.

Tim raised a black brow. "Where do you think you are going to go?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're such a goody-goody. I'm LEAVING."

"You can't do that!" he grabbed her wrist.

Images of chains and slaves and masters flashed through her mind. "Well, I AM." She snapped a little too harshly, stomping out of his reach. She HATED being grabbed. Calming down slightly, she whispered. "Goodbye, Tim." Then she walked away from him, out the side door of the school with an oddly defined stealth as a teacher turned away.

Outside the sun had disappeared behind Gotham's always gloomy clouds, and it was rather grey. She ignored this and strode out the building…

As soon as she thought she was alone her stride turned into a more childish, short hop like walk and her eyes widened slightly. Her voice went higher, and she giggled in that eerie way. Twirling into an alleyway, she realized how thankful she was that she wasn't in that stupid school.

"Stab, stab, stab the boy! Slowly he shall die! Cut him up and bleed him out and show him his insides!" she giggled at the demonic little rhyme, her child's voice feeling so… NATURAL. She was not Rouge. She was Little Red.

"H-HOOD?" the familiar voice behind her made her skin crawl in awareness. She did not turn around- hopefully she was far enough away from the school that they would not know she had just come from there.

No. No! NONONO! Not her! NOT ONE OF THEM! Her mind wandered to a flashback of the day she had arrived at Arkham Asylum;

'_Scarecrow sighed from behind his mask. "So then. What IS your name?"_

_"Little Red." Red answered simply, smiling a small smile at him._

_"Like Little Red Riding Hood? IM going to call you Hood!" a bubbly voice with a slight accent suddenly boomed cheerily from behind her, and she nearly jumped straight through the ceiling. As she turned, Harley Quinn was grinning at her broadly.'_

Red snapped back to reality with sickening force. She very, VERY slowly turned around. "Harley Quinn." She said it like a statement- not a question.

"Hood…" Harley gave a torn look to Red. "Hood… you're alive!" she looked happy for a moment, but then the girls black lips dropped into a frightening frown. "But… Mistah J said that if anyone finds you…"

"You kill me?" Red sneered.

"Well…" Harley bit her lip. "I HAVE to…"

"No."

"What?"

"No, you don't. And you know you don't." she snarled at Harley. "So just pretend like you never saw me and the clown will just leave me alone."

"Don't call Mistah J. a clown, kid!" Red could almost FEEL the ferocity in Harley's voice. Harley shot out the last word like a missile, targeted right for Red.

"Okay then, leave me ALONE, Traitor." Red put her hands in fists. She was so SICK of them- Fine! If Joker and the other wanted her DEAD, they could have fun paying the consequences!

"Why you little brat!" Harley pulled a long bazooka from her back, and held it to her shoulder. "You're going to be sorry you ever insulted Mistah J, my Puddin- OOF!" Harley was kicked from behind, and her bazooka went sprawling.

A boy wearing a red costume with black boots and a large yellow belt growled over Harley, his mask unable to conceal the amazing sapphire color of his eyes. His cape covered most of his body as he faced away from her, and Red frowned.

It wasn't Batman… so then… who?

"Run!" the boy demanded of her, and she took no time to turn on heel and dart from there, her ponytail flying behind her.

As she ran her breath became ragged and she eventually had to stop, pain from a long run taring at her side.

Then, as she stopped, she finally slid down the wall and let the voice talk o her again.

_*Who was that?*_ the voice hissed impatiently.

"How should I know?" Red snapped back at it, and in return it retorted with:

_*Well, he saved your hood!*_

Red nodded in agreement, her breath shallow. "He had no idea who I was though."

_*That's good.* _

"Are we really sure of that?" The childish voice was back now that's eh felt comfortable.

_*Yes. They will kill you, then Tim, then everyone you know.* _

"Why should I care about him?" she glared at the wall across the alleyway.

_*Because you cannot help it, idiotic girl!* _

Red stood and limping slightly began to make her way back to her house. "And besides." She told the voice. "I don't know anyone. I don't get close to people." Her voice darkened. "Because they will betray you."


	3. The Threat

Red stumbled back into the school, her eyes wide. In a trance almost, she wobbled back into the cafeteria, where she scanned for Tim.

"Rouge?" Tim's voice behind her made Red jump, and she responded to the false name as if it where her own.

"T-Tim! Harley Quinn is loose, and Joker too!"

Tim raised a brow, but deep down he felt good for getting rid of her fear. "No, Batman and Robin just caught them." He realized he did not tell her how he knew. "Uh, the principles told us."

Tim saw something flicker in her eye, something not familiar. The dark light was malicious and bloodthirsty. "Oh…" Rouge looked taken back. "So then… this 'Robin'…" she scowled. "Is with Batman?"

"Uh, yeah… Why?" Robin pretended to be clueless.

"He saved me." She said simply, the tone to her voice cracked like a whip. The harshness of three simple words stopped him from asking her any farther questions. "Go on to class. I'll meet you after school."

Robin watched her as he walked back to class, a frown on his lips. He felt odd… he realized. He had never, not ONCE in his life, felt so… threatened.

Harley threw her hands into the air, her eyes wide. The blue jumpsuit that was fastened to her body was uncomfortable. Scarecrow and Joker where in front of her.

"I swear, Puddin'! Hood is out there!"

Joker scowled at her. "Are you SURE? Harley, you DON'T want me to catch you lying."

Scarecrow seemed deep in thought, silent. He had not spoken this entire time after Joker and Harley had been caught. Batman had gotten him within a month of escape.

"I-I-I can prove it, Puddin'! She was singing a real creepy song.. Uhh.. it went like.." she screwed up her face in thought. "Stab, stab, stab the boy! Slowly he shall die! Stick him like an ugly pig and-"

"It was her." Scarecrow finally spoke. "I know it." He felt the flashback creep onto him. He had been suppressing memories lately. Memories of her.

' _At first Scarecrow thought she was singing Row, Row, Row your boat… but as he listened closely a smile formed on his lips. How delightfully… scary._

_She sang, "…Stab, stab, stab the boy. Slowly he shall die! Bleed him like an ugly pig and show him his insides!" then she giggled eerily at herself. "…Stab, stab, stab the boy. Slowly he shall die! Cut him up and bleed him out and then laugh as he cries!" '_

Joker laughed hysterically, but it was not a friendly laugh. "So then, we still have to deal with her? How troublesome!" his tone went dark. "Harley, how did you not kill her when you had the chance?"

Harley frowned too. "Well, it was weird. Bird-boy came out of nowhere and saved her." She referred to Robin like a pest, a rat you find in your cerial box.

"But wouldn't they have taken HER in too?" Scarecrow scowled, his arms crossed.

Harley thought about it. "Now that I think about it… she looked different. Like a teenager. Normal."

"So then she's under cover?" Joker was grinning in a maclicious way. "Then the only thing to do… is search for her!"

Scarecrow frowned. "She's pretty crafty, Joker."

"Aw, shucks! Have a little laughter in your life, hay-stack! It would be like… hide and seek!" Harley giggled, bouncing up and down in her seat. "Right, Puddin?"

Joker laughed. "Righto, babe!" Harley swooned in her seat, dreamy eyed, and Scarecrow spoke from beneath his mask.

"I presume you already have a way to escape?"

"Why funny thing you should ask!" Joker looked around, then muttered. "I always do."


	4. The Metal Detectors

Rouge boredly tapped her pencil on her desk. It had been three days since Harley had seen her… this 'Robin' had gotten her AND Joker sent back to Arkham. If that slimy clown had told Harley to tell him if she saw Red, she would in a heartbeat.

So Joker knew she was out there.

How long until he found her?

The teacher talked on and on about mathematics. Red knew it all. Ron had taught it all to her, made SURE she had an education if worse came to worse.

"-Here is your assistant principal, Miss. Lakin! She is here today on a random metal detection test. Everyone please set down any bags or purses." The teacher finished whatever she was saying.

Rouge looked up, an alarmed look on her face. She looked back behind her, to Tim, who had the desk behind her. "What is she talking about?"

Tim frowned at her. "The school district has random metal detection tests for 'safety'. Why?"

Rouge looked back at the woman with wide eyes. Underneath her jacket she felt a metal blade bump against her skin. Her favorite weapon.

A meat clever.

The woman had the entire girls stand from their desks, and Rouge wobbly stood. Tim watched Rouge with a confused expression. Rouge looked… afraid. Like she was wary- like she had a death sentence.

Several girls were told to stand against the wall, the beeper only coming up once for a girl who had a cell phone that was on. Cell phones were not allowed on campus.

Finally Red was up. Her head down, she stood against the wall flat, her hands above her head. Tim thought it was kind of funny that she looked just like one of the goons in Arkham.

Ms. Lakin brought the scanner down Rouge's back, and it was completely silent in the room. Then… *BEEP*

Tim jumped, shocked. Red stayed against the wall, breathing hard.

Ms. Lakin cleared her throat. "AHEM. Miss, please hand over your cell phone!" the woman held out her frail hand expectantly.

Red could not help but think of how EASY it would be to break it. "No."

"Excuse me? Hand it over NOW!" The woman's face was going red, and Rouge took pleasure in the pretty color making her face a little more bearable. She could feel the eyes of EVERY student in the classroom on her. They were staring, staring, STARING.

"I-I can't!"

"Your mother can pick it up at the front office! Hand It over or I will call her!" the woman grabbed Red's wrist and yanked her around.

Well, we all know how Red feels about being grabbed by the wrist.

Rouge ducked fast, wriggling her wrist free. She pushed the woman. Hard. Ms. Lakin flew slightly backwards, her face red.

Her teacher ran over to help the principal, and they now ganged up on her.

Tim stared, shocked, at his friend. WHY was she doing this? Batman would help the teacher. Batman would stop Red. Batman would not care if it was his friend if they were putting someone in danger.

Batman was not here.

As Red struggled against them, her eyes locked with Tim's for a moment. However, Tim did NOT recognize the girl's eyes he was staring into.

These eyes where fiercely golden, and the irises almost took up the entire eye. Her pupils where dilated, and a childish gleam shone in them. Where had he seen that before?

As Red was distracted by Tim's expression, the teachers both grabbed her arms with bony fingers, trying to suspend her. "N-NO!" suddenly her voice changed into a childish, high pitch that made Tim's flesh crawl. "LET. ME. GO!"

Just then, when Red yanked hard to get free, a square blade with a wooden handle fell from her jacket.

The meat clever.

Ms. Lakin gasped and jumped back, and her teacher shrieked and ran to her desk, pushing a red button by her chair.

"Rouge?" Tim whispered her name, his eyes dark and confused. Rouge turned those wide, child-like eyes on him.

Suddenly more than one male teacher ran into the room and grabbed Red, forcing her into a binding grip as one of them held her arms behind her back, squeezing them too tight together. She yelped out in pain.

Hanging her head, she went limp. Wide eyes stared at her everywhere as they began to drag her out of the room. Before she was able to be yanked out she raised her head to look at Tim. She whispered one word and one word only, in a high child's voice.

"Help."

Then she was gone, to the principal's office where they would call the police, then her parents.

Tim's eyes widened and he waited for ten minutes as the classroom talked and whispered about how scary that was. The teacher walked over slowly and picked up the meat clever, looking at the handle of it.

A wolf was carved into the smooth wood.

"Teacher? May I go to the restroom?"

The woman looked at Tim, the child who had always turned in his work and always been quiet in her class. Shaken by Rouge, she muttered "Sure, sure. Go."

Tim fled from the classroom and into the restroom, where he looked at a watch onto his hand. He pressed a small yellow button on the brim three times, and a hologram picture came out.

Batman frowned at him. "Tim! Why are you calling me during school? Is something wrong?"

Robin shook his head. "No time to explain, Bruce. Just please, hurry down here. I can explain when you get down. Don't come in costume. Just HELP."

Then he slammed his finger down onto the button and ended the conversation.


	5. The Disorder

Bruce frowned down at Tim as he told the story of what had happened.

"Then a meat clever fell out of her jacket… Bruce… she ran into Harley Quinn the other day. I think they might have something to do about it. Im worried about her." Tim walked with Bruce as they came into the school. Red was still in the office.

"Tim… do you… LIKE this girl?" Bruce smiled wryly down at Tim.

"Can we talk about this as a more appropriate time?" Tim almost growled at him.

"You sound like me." Bruce chuckled.

"You're ACTING like ME."

Bruce only chuckled as they entered the principal's office. "Wait out here." He commanded to Tim, who leaned against the wall without protest.

As the widely known, wealthy man entered the principal's assistant looked up and raised a brow. "Bruce Wayne? Why are you here? Tim has not been in today…" the frail, old woman with curly black hair frowned from behind her spectacles.

"I am here for Rouge Henderson."

The woman gave him an incredulous look. "You are not her legal guardian, I am afraid-"

"I got this note from her mother, I hope that clears things up for you." He smiled charmingly, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a small slip of white paper. He handed it to the woman. It read;

'Please let Bruce Wayne pick up my daughter, Rouge Henderson, from school. '

The woman read it over before smiling warmly and gesturing to a small blue door. "Ms. Lakin's office is that way. The police will only come if he mother did not, but now that you have that will not be necessary."

Bruce nodded then swiftly turned, making his way to the office door to pick up a child he had never met after they were caught with a meat clever

Inside Red sat in a chair across from the principal, she had her arms crossed and her eyes where wide.

Bruce strode in and Red raised her brow, confused. However, he began speaking before she had the chance to say; 'Who the hell are you and why you are here?'

"I just spoke with the assistant, I came for Rouge?"

The woman frowned. "If you have a note, then we need to speak about Rouge."

Bruce did not argue, and sat down next to Rouge in a big chair. "Of course."

The Principal went on, "As you know, Rouge had a very dangerous weapon on campus today. We had the student counselor talk to her and she came up with a few suggestions as to why it happened."

Bruce simply nodded, looking intrigued by the conversation.

"Well, the counselor believes that Rouge might have what is called 'BPD'."

"Borderline Personality Disorder." Bruce stated, frowning slightly.

Rouge growled. "Now wait a minute-"

The woman interrupted her. "Today she seemed to change in the classroom, when we wanted to see what she had in her pockets."

"Wait! Are you calling me crazy?"

The woman turned a sympathetic gaze on Red, as if she where pathetic. "No dear, of course not!"

"Oh, so then what do YOU call it?"

Bruce stood from his chair, still smiling charmingly. "I think it is time we go, Ms. Lakin."

Red frowned and stood, not knowing what was up, but she knew to go along with whatever this man was saying.

"Of course, Mister Wayne. Please do come again." Miss Lakin returned to her papers, frowning deeply.

Bruce was already walking out, but Red stopped in her tracks. "I want it back."

The black haired man raised a brow and looked down on her. "What?"

She turned. "Ms. Lakin. I want my meat clever back."

The woman glared at her. "I will not give it back to you-"

"Miss? If she DOES have this disorder, it would not be right to keep something important away from her." Bruce frowned at the woman.

Hesitantly, she reached under her desk and grabbed the weapon, slowly handing it back to Bruce. However, just before his hands touched the blade she snatched it back and held it close to her chest.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't want anyone else touching it."

They just nodded, then Bruce led her from the office and into the main hallway again.

Tim's eyes brightened to see Red not arrested, and greeted her with interested eyes. "Are you okay?"

She nodded stiffly, the motion sending a ripple like wave through her jet black hair that traveled the whole way to her waist. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Each of the men flanking her side, she clutched the blade in a way that it would not cut her as they led her outside.

When they got into the sun Rouge raised her face slightly to let the warm touch of its flames lick her cheeks.

"Bruce?" Tim asked, raising a brow. "Who wrote that note?"

Red looked up, curious. Her golden eyes burned into Bruce's eyes.

Bruce chuckled, looking away. "Alfred. Who else?"


	6. The Diary Entry

**This is just a small thing I decided to do to help you in on how Red feels… have fun listening to her opinions! Oh, and did I mention that you get to read her diary? No worries. I won't tell her. You're safe… for now.**

Dear Diary,

Hello, my name is Little Red. That's it. Just Little Red.

I might occasionally have a small page like this—you know, where I show you my opinion on my life story so far. Neat, right?

Well, we can start with… Oh, I dunno… Tim. Sure, Tim's a nice guy. He tends to be a goody good though… Did you know I like his eyes? They're a pretty blue. I wish they were red… and his hair was red… and he wore red… *Shakes head* Oh, sorry reader! Got… carried away…

As I am SURE you know, I'm… eh… more or less insane. Granted, no SANE person would kill—but also no MADMAN could devise the plans that I am right now. SO surely, I am MUCH smarted than a madman.

Yes, I am planning things… Like I heard of a crocodile man that lives in the sewers… they call him 'Killer Croc'. It reminds me of an old nursery rhyme Ron used to tell me.

Tick, Tock. FEED THE CROCK!

Pleasant, right?

MAYBE I can get hold of Hatter… get connections. He didn't look pleased by Joker's actions… and I don't even KNOW where Riddler was when they betrayed me.

Betrayal. It's a funny thing, really. Like how Joker and the others betrayed me. Like how I would betray anyone in a heartbeat to avenge Ron's death.

Oh… Ron…

I miss you.

-Little Red


	7. The Dinner

"You must have a lot of money." Red said simply as she walked into the huge mansion, but it gave her the creeps. It looked like the one Two-Face and Joker had made. The one they had tried to kill her in.

Red knew better than to act anything but sweet and nice now- suspicion was already rising. And it could not continue. At the door a butler eyed her then politely stepped out, holding his hand out. "Would you like me to hold your… err, meat clever, Madame?"

She handed it to him without protest. "You must be the famous Alfred." Smiling warmly up at him, her golden eyes flickered.

"Indeed I am." The man smiled back for a moment, then looked at Bruce. "Master Bruce, I am assuming all went well at the school?"

Bruce nodded, and Tim walked a little faster to gain up with Rouge. He still had some question that he needed her to answer.

Bruce and Alfred where talking in hushed voices, then Bruce left swiftly to the stairs. Red wondered briefly where he was going.

Alfred turned and bowed slightly to her. "Madame-"

She interrupted. "Please, d-don't bow to me. You are not a slave. You get paid." Only slaves bowed to people… her past flashed behind her own eyes, and she cringed slightly.

Alfred raised a brow for a moment, but then just nodded. "As I was saying, Master Bruce wishes to have you for dinner."

Tim grinned. "You should stay. Alfred is one mean cook."

Red frowned for a moment, about to protest, but her stomach rumbled. She had been living off Ramen Noodles, for pete's sake! "Yes, I would love to stay." She replied gracioustly, nodding her head slightly.


	8. The Puppet

Tim looked at Alfred, and they exchanged a weird look.

Red decided she did not like it when people in this house exchanged secret looks.

"C'mon. Have you ever played pool?" Tim smiled down at her.

Red almost laughed at this. Of course! Ron's penthouse had a pool table downstairs on the first floor, and one in the bedroom. "Yeah, why?"

"You want to play?"

'You want to play?' the words wrung through Red's head, messing her up. What funny words. What WEIRD words. She said that to people, when she wanted to kill them. Tim said that to people when he wanted to shoot some pool. Odd words.

"Sure." She nodded, and followed him up the winding staircase.

At the dinner table Red's jaw dropped as Alfred lifted the silver lid to a plate, revealing a stuffed turkey. Its skin was crisp and a rich, golden color. The aroma that drifted into her nose made her mouth water.

Tim and Bruce took some happily, and then Alfred cut Red a leg off and gently set the plate down for her. She smiled up at him thankfully- then began to rip into the chicken leg as if she hadn't eaten in days. Which to be honest, she barely had.

Tim laughed at her eagerness. "Chill Rouge! It's like you haven't eaten or something!"

Bruce was chuckling too, and then suddenly the room went quiet. Red looked up, chewing on chicken, confused.

"So, Tim told me that you where the girl who ran into Harley Quinn before she was caught the other day." Bruce smiled warmly at her.

Oh. So that's why she was invited.

"Yeah, he was telling the truth." Red bit into her chicken again, scowling.

Bruce raised a brow. "Harley Quinn, huh?"

"I think she should just realize that that stupid slime-ball clown is a dirt-bag and get over him-"she bit into her chicken hard to stop herself from speaking anymore. "I meaann… You can see the way she like, stares at him in the newspapers and stuff…"

Bruce and Tim exchanged a look. Tim sighed, and then stood from his chair. Red was scowling heavily, taking another bit of chicken.

Bruce asked politely. "Rouge… Did any of the villains put you up to what you did today?"

Red immediately snapped, shooting up from her chair. "What is THAT supposed to mean? DO you think I'm just some stupid manipulative puppet? Do you think that some silly clown and his love-sick jester could overpower me?"

Tim stared with wide eyes. "Rouge, please stop yelling-"

"And who are YOU TWO to invite me to dinner just so that you could get some questions on the latest villains? Who do you people think you are, Batman and Robin?" her temper was breaking.

Bruce stood. "Rouge, sit down! Stop screaming!"

"Stop screaming, Rouge!" Red mimicked him. "Ugh!" she stormed for the door, "I can't believe this! I-I thought we were friends Tim. Not just your information puppet." She snapped the last words.

*Betrayal! Everyone betrays you!* that nasty little voice was back. It was only making her reaction worse.

She was so angry she wanted to hit something. Just dig her nails into someone. Yes, SOMEONE.

"Rouge-"Tim grabbed her wrist to spin her around. "Please-"

Red was not consciously aware of her hand connecting with Tim's left cheek as she slapped him hard across the face. All she could think of was cages and slave owners and being violated and-

Tim coiled backwards, pain shining in his eyes. "Rouge…"

Red frowned, her eyes teary. "Leave me alone, Tim!" she turned and bolted for the door, but suddenly a single word stopped her.

"Red."

Red turned to see Bruce frowning calmly at her. Red.

"You need to turn yourself in."

Tim whipped around, shocked. "Bruce. What are you talking about?"

Red did not stay to listen. She turned back around and literally bolted for the front door, leaping down the stairs and out into the night.


	9. The Frenemy

Tim glared at Batman. "Now whadya do that for?"

Batman sighed. "Tim. Rouge is not really Rouge… well… Not that's he ISN'T Rouge… It's just…"

Alfred sighed. "You're 'Rouge' is actually a supervillian named Little Red in disguise."

"What… she… no…" Tim looked at the door she had run from. "But I spent time with her. I-I know she couldn't have…"

Bruce put a hand on Robin's shoulder. "Her name in French means 'Red'. That meat cleaver she had with her today had a wolf carved into it. You are lucky she had no idea who you were."

"Why?"

"She would have killed you."

Robin glared at Batman. "No, she would never-"

"She is responsible for two murders, and the attempt to shoot a little boy in the head at a bank. Robin, she kills." Batman simply looked down at Robin with an odd expression.

"Not me, Batman. You're wrong this time. Not me. She wouldn't-"

"She would kill you easily if she knew you helped Batman." Bruce interjected again, now frowning.

"WHY?"

"Because I accidentally got her boyfriend killed in a car accident." He knew the words where harsh and unforgiving, but he also knew that Robin needed a little jolt to cold reality. "He drove into the water when he saw me, and drown. She was also in the car. She got out by breaking the window."

Images flashed behind Tim's ultra-blue eyes. Images that made him wish he could make them go away. Especially one specific image. Rouge, stuck in a car with the seatbelt like a vice grip around her, securing her to the seat. She could not breathe, and tried desperately to escape. Finally she managed to break the window and swim to surface, to realize that her lover was still stuck down there at the bottom.

"Why where you chasing him?" Tim was much calmer now, his fists un-clenching.

Batman sighed, sitting back into a chair. "You knew him. Ron Gordillo."

Tim whirled around. "The mafia guy?"

The muscular man nodded. "Yes. Ron was drug trafficking. I had no idea he would have swerved off the road, he must have known I was already after him."

Tim looked at where she left. "Batman… we have to chase her, don't we?"

"Yes."

"She is going to know who we are, isn't she?"

"Yes."

"And how do we expect her not to tell everyone she can see?"

"We don't. All we can hope for is that you know her well enough to close in on her in time, and convince her to be quiet." Bruce sighed deeply, rubbing his temple.

Tim was quiet. "When we catch her?"

"She will go to Arkham. They can help her there."

"Then… we are helping her by doing this…" Robin assured himself, but he was not so sure. He had watched burglars turn into cannibals at Arkham Asylum.

He would never want that to happen to Rouge- No, not Rouge. Red.

Little Red.


	10. The Fire

Red threw open the door to the mansion she had occupied, bolting up the stairs with numb legs. She went into her room and grabbed her costume off of the bed, then threw it on. Slipping into her heels, Red dug under her pillow and yanked out a whistle with a red string around it.

"I need to get out of here…" Red whispered in a high voice, her real voice. "Out, out, OUT." Yanking her bedroom door open again, she slammed it shut behind her then went back down the stairs, into the kitchen.

The long, sterling silver blade waited for her, and as she approached it she could hear small whispers from around the room. She cast a wary look around with wide golden eyes. As her pale her flashed forwards and grabbed the blade she giggled at the weight and feel of it. She felt dangerous.

Red slipped the knife in her belt then ran to the back door and jumped out of it, bolting across the yard in an incredibly fast speed for a girl with heels on to the shed.

The shed was musty and smelled funny, but she grabbed several things inside of it. First was a small basket with a cloth over it, second was a chainsaw which she strapped around her back, and third was gasoline and matches.

*You have to burn the evidence!* That nasty voice hissed in her ear, and she nodded.

"What do you THINK I'm doing, lighting candles for a romantic evening!" Red snapped back at the voice, a scowl on her blood red lips. The voice swore at her.

Finally red took the gasoline and went inside the house, yanking off the lid and tilting it so that the liquid came out. She ran through the entire house, up and down the stairs, soaking everything she could see.

She ran to the kitchen and turned on the gas stove, then she used the last bit to lead a trail out of the front door, before throwing the gasoline bucket aside. She yanked out a match then lit it, dropping it on the gasoline trail.

The small flame crawled across the yard into the house. Red ran fast and hard away from the house as it caught on fire, the chainsaw bumping across her back.

She was able to reach the other side of the street before the house exploded from the gas coming from the stove. The fire lit up the sky as debris and soot and ash began to rain as they dropped out of the explosion.

"Geez… That was a lot more 'explosiony' that I thought it was going to be…" Red muttered, a little shaken. "But I can't waist time. Got-to-go… Got-to-gooo…"

She set off again, grabbing the whistle in her fist as she neared the woods. She had made sure to live by the woods, so that she could be near her most prized possession.

The wolf.

As she got just feet away from the trees, she blew the whistle. It was a silent whistle, but still. She knew that the wolf could hear it.

It was just around then that the headlights of a sleek black, armored car appeared at the end of her street. Red looked up, confused at first, but then her eyes widened and she froze.

Robin scanned the street where Rouge lived, and his eyes widened. "Holy burning buildings, Batman! What if she's still in there? We have to save he-"

"She wouldn't get herself caught in a house fire. I don't think she will let herself die until she gets her revenge." Batman used that alarmingly deep voice in costume as he scanned the streets too. "She is burning any evidence that she lived there."

Red hissed, alarmed, and then blew the whistle again. WHERE was that wolf?

"There! I see her! By the woods!" Robin pointed a black gloved hand at the figure, wearing red at the end of the street. Even though she looked WAY different than usual, he could tell.

Batman saw her immediately and sped up the Batmobile, gaining on where she stood.

Like a deer in headlights, she backed up against a tree and stayed there, wide eyed.

Batman finally stopped the car, and both him and Robin stepped out, standing their ground.

"Rou- Red. Please, turn yourself in!"

Red's pupils dilated. She knew that voice. That was…

All at once, every piece to the puzzle clicked together.

It revealed an ugly, bloody picture.


	11. The Capture and Release

"YOU!" Red was only distantly aware she was screaming- her subconscious had taken over betrayal and regret and hate bubbling up to re-enforce it. "I-I thought you were just a traitor! I thought you had just contacted Batman and Robin…" she went quiet, looking down- then she screamed. Loud. "BUT THIS IS WORSE!"

Robin coiled backwards, but Batman stepped forwards in an intimidating way.

"You're worse than a traitor. You… You're the enemy!" Red spat the last word like venom. How could she have let him fool her this long? Tim was Batman's sidekick.

"Red, you can't tell anyone." Batman spoke calmly.

"Why would I? I don't want you exposed, Batman." At first it seemed eerily kind for her to say something like that, but then her head snapped back up and her eyes where wide and fiercely golden. "I want you dead!"

Well, Robin's jaw just about dropped to the ground.

Suddenly police sirens wailed behind the three of them, fire-trucks and police cars to see why the house had exploded. Batman and Robin both turned for a brief second to scan the perimeter.

Red took no time whipping around and darting into the woods while they were distracted.

Seconds after Red threw herself past trees; Batman and Robin realized what she was doing and began to follow.

"Red! Please stop running! We only want to help!" Robin called after her, running in perfect pace with Batman.

"We WILL use force!" Batman's voice was much more threatening- and it made Red want to run MUCH faster. Not out of fear, but just to show him who's who!

Red reached over her back and grabbed the basket with a cloth over it. Batman cast her a wary look- what was she up to?

"Well I WAS going to take these to Granny…" she giggled at her own joke. "But you can have them!" she reached into the basket and pulled out a grenade. She used her teeth to yank out the pin, and then threw it at the two chasing her.

Batman's eyes widened and he grabbed Robin, jumping to safety JUST before it exploded on the ground. The force of it made the ground shake slightly, and Red stumbled a little before regaining pace. Batman and Robin where after her again in seconds, now slightly behind.

Red suddenly whipped around a tree, turning to a sharp right. Robin slipped and Batman stopped. She was out of sight. "Robin, split up. Find her."

Robin nodded, and then they both took off in different directions to find the girl in the woods.

Red had no idea who was following her or if anyone was close, but she ran anyways. Her breath grew ragged and her lungs felt like they tore every time she inhaled, but she pumped her legs faster and faster.

Suddenly a hand snatched her wrist and yanked her behind a bush. Red screamed. Loud.

"LET GO OF ME, YOU JERK!" she screeched. "I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS! LET. GO!" her free hand instinctively went to her back and she roughly pulled out the chainsaw. Yanking the chain she let it roar for a moment before lunging for the person, who dodged. She could not see them clearly from the dark of the forest.

"Stop moving!" her high, child's voice sounded amused and agitated, like a toddler loosing at hide-and-seek.

With an expert kick,t he person kicked the chainsaw right from her hands. She squeaked and then in turn gave them a high kick to the face. It hit it's mark perfectly. However, the person grabbed her arms and restrained her.

"Let go of me, or I swear I will gut you like a fish!"

Suddenly the hands grew too hard and threw her against a tree. She felt her head slam against it, and the bark stabbed her. She felt something warm trickle down the back of her head. "You think I don't know that? Shut the hell up and stay still!"

Red blinked, and finally focused her gaze on the person who had thrown her against a tree. She had thought it was Robin, for sure… but no.

With big golden eyes, she was looking straight into the mask of the one person she hated most, other than Batman.

Scarecrow.


	12. The Fear Dust

Red found herself frozen as she looked into the eyes under that mask of his- she realized suddenly that they were green. Ron had green eyes too.

"You're so lucky I can't move my arms, Crow-face!" Red hissed in a more than threatening tone.

"Crow-face?" Scarecrow shook his head. "Dear, you can do better than that!"

Red suddenly kneed his stomach, but he didn't let go and kept her pinned to the tree as he groaned in pain.

"You little witch-"

"Ah-Ah-Ah! Little RED, Crow-face. RED." The black haired girl smiled with a false sweetness that made even Scarecrow's skin crawl a little.

"Will you just hear me out?" Scarecrow snapped in a voice so low and threatening that Red immediately went silent without thinking about it. "Joker, Harley and me got loose the night after Harley saw you. Red, he wants you dead."

"Gee, what would make you think that? The fact he nearly hat Harvey dent blow my brains out, the fact he had Harley Quinn kill me if she saw me, or the fact that he NEVER GIVES UP?" Red roared the last words, and Scarecrow clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Shut up!" he commanded. "AS I WAS SAYING, he has the wolf. He seems to think that he will get somewhere by taking away your greatest weapon. He sent me here today to scope out these houses, and hopefully kill you."

Red's eyes widened and she struggled against him, screaming against his hand. However, her words just came out a jumbled mess.

"If you aren't quiet, Batman will hear us!" he shook her tightly, and her head hit the bark again. "So I came to a conclusion with the help of Riddler. Um… Riddler is less than happy about the while 'betrayal' thing. Apparently he likes to play fair."

Red could sense the irritation in his voice, and wondered if there was more behind Riddler's help.

"Anyways," Scarecrow continued as if he didn't have her pinned against a tree. "Riddler and I came to a conclusion. I find you, use fear gas to knock you out, we both get sent to Arkham! Then Joker would think I was trying and Riddler would think you were safe.

Red responded with a swift kick to his knees. He let go this time, and she began to scream at the top of her lungs. "YOU THINK I'M GOING BACK TO THAT HELL HOLE?" her already high voice was strained now, almost a squeak. "OVER MY LIMB, COLD BODY!"

Scarecrow grunted as he reached behind him and pulled out a small pouch of something. "Very well then, as you wish…"

"Wait, no! It was a metaphor! Don't you dare!" fear lacerated her anger now. She never wanted anyone to see what she was afraid of. She never wanted anyone to know her past, or her reasoning behind becoming who she was now. "STAY BACK, CRANE!"

Scarecrow was standing cruelly with the pouch raised. "Oh, but Little Hood, now you are afraid. I HAVE to know why."

"You don't want to mess with me, Crow-face!"

"I am sure I will pay for this later, blah-blah-blah." Scarecrow casually reached into the pouch. He seemed very intent as he pulled out a small pile of glittering gold powder. "And after fear, oblivion!" he threw it at her, and all Red could do was watch as the extremely pretty dust fell on her clothes and sprinkled over her eyelashes.

"You… will be… so… so sorry… Crow-face…" Red admired the golden dust for a moment before an unexpected sense of uneasiness overcame her and her eyelid's drooped, making her black out.


	13. The Phobia

Red opened her eyes to a familiar, urgent voice instructing her. "Konnie, get off you seatbelt NOW."

Feeling limp, she simply looked sideways and smiled sleepily. "Ron?"

The handsome nineteen year old raised a black brow over his stunning emerald eyes. "Yeah, it's Ron. Come on Doll, you've got to cooperate in this!"

Red's smile turned into a frown as she finally looked around, and she stiffened and sat up fully in her seat. Outside the car windows the Corvette was slowly sinking into the black water of the lake. "Ron! No! This-this isn't happening again!"

"What are you talking about? Look, just focus. You need to get out of the car. On the count of three I can punch your window through." Ron had that determined look on his face that worried Red. He only used it when he knew stakes where high.

"Ron, you need to get out too! Please! My life is hell without you! I love you so much and when I lose you-"she was cut off very suddenly as Ron grabbed either side of her head and kissed her for a long time. He pulled away and tipped the hat he was wearing like a gentleman to a lady in the olden days.

"We're gonna get you outta here." His Jersey accent came apparent as the stress of the situation got to him.

"But I want YOU out of here-"

Suddenly Ron pulled form his pocked a pair of brass knuckles as water began to seep in through the windows and door. He pulled his fist back, and for a moment Red noticed blood on the brass knuckles, noting what a pretty color it was in her head somewhere. His hand shot forwards, and the glass shattered. Water blasted at them, and Red was blinded for a moment.

"GO!" suddenly she heard a blast from behind her, and obediently scurried out of the window, glass from the window lacerating her hands.

As she got into the water she clawed upwards for the surface, the black water making everything confusing and disorienting. Finally, she broke to the surface.

Joy filled her heart. "I-I'm alive! Ron, we're going to live, Ron-"she stopped swimming- because just then they were pulling a sleek Corvette out of the water, a limp body in the front seat.

She scrambled to the decks, hoisting herself up she ran to his body as they began to set him on the concrete. "Ron! RON!" she grabbed him and wrapped her arms around him like a mother hugging her child. "Look Ron! I survived, see Babe?" she shook him a little. "Now you can wake up too!" her eyes where filling with tears.

They dragged Konnie away from the body forcefully; she thrashed against them with every fiber of her being. "RON!" another scream ripped through her now raw throat, she shook her dripping wet hair.

How could she have let him crash the car into that Lake? Wait… she DIDN'T. Someone had rigged the car… SOMEONE had KILLED Ron.

She finally yanked her arms free of the police officer's hands, and threw herself over his cold body protectively. "Stay BACK!" she hissed at the officers, who had a body bag. Then she turned to his blank, open eyes. They were deep green… not like the dark, black waters that had killed him. "Ron! W-Wake up! WAKE UP!" she ran her fingers through his hair. "Y-You bastard! Wake up!" she cursed at him out of anger. How could he leave her like that?

That's when the fear started to grip her. It made the fear inside of her bubble up and writhe in her stomach like maggots. Tears dripped on Ron's face and fell off.

Suddenly a cold, wet hand wrapped around her throat. "You WORTHLESS, UNIMPORTANT, IDIOTIC GIRL!" Konnie looked down with wide eyes to see a dead Ron gripping her throat. "If I go to hell, I'm taking you with me!" and suddenly she was being pulled underground, into the dark and the cold.

"STOP, STOP, STOP!" Red pleaded, tears staining her face, and finally the darkness overwhelmed her. She closed her eyes and begged for it to stop.

Light hurt her eyelids and they snapped open. She was confused to realize that the scene had changed. Now the tight grip on her throat was a studded collar, with a chain attached to it. She was in a silver cage that was cold and too bright.

"NO!" Red screamed so loud all of the men in the room turned to her. She grabbed the bars of her cage and shook them, hard. Looking down at her self, tears only welled up more into her eyes. She wore a small, blue bikini like outfit that was too small. "LET ME OUT! PLEASE!"

The crowd of men around the cage, all holding up money, began to laugh and say something about breaking her in. Masters.

And Red was a slave again. "NO! This ISNT happening! LET ME OUT-"suddenly a whip came down hard across her fingers as they were wrapped around the bars. She screeched and pulled her hands back into the cage. Her current master scowled at her and she backed against the cage.

"Shut your mouth, child!" the man hissed at her. "Or I will make sure you don't wake up tomorrow."

Red sniffled and nodded.

"WHAT do you say to me?" he narrowed his eyes at her, and raised the whip.

"I will not say it, bastard!" Red flared again, throwing herself at the side of the cage. The whip came down across her left cheek. Then again… and again. "I-I'm sorry! Sorry…. M-Master!" Saying the M word was so degrading, so embarrassing!

"Good girl." He nodded then turned back to the men as Red felt blood swell on the lashes to her cheek. She did not dare cry- crying did not help you here.

"And SOLD, to the man with the suede jacket!" her 'Master' yelled, and a man with black hair and dazzling green eyes stepped forwards. Red cowered as he took her by the leash and led her out, and she pulled against the leash slightly as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Please… don't hurt me… Please…" she was only able to cry pathetically.

The man leaned down into her ear and whispered, "Sh. Don't worry. I'm getting you out of this mess. Dirt bags… they should know that even I wouldn't go this far. My name is Ron."

Konnie looked up with shocked eyes and he smiled at her charmingly…. But then he began to fade, turning into nothing but smoke as the scene around her faded. She opened her eyes wide and reached for his hand, but it was only smoke. "No! Don't leave me again! No!"

The entire place around her faded, and it was completely dark as she looked around. Looking down at herself she was wearing her Red costume, and this made her nerves calm a little. Good. Maybe she was waking up… from… fear dust! That's right!

Soon a small amount of light peered in through somewhere above her, and she frowned. What was that? Her eyes narrowed slightly and she reached up for it, but nothing was there. Just a light very high up.

"I will not let Crow-face scare me again… I won't!" she bravely walked forwards, before breaking into a stride to walk farther into the darkness and away from the light. However, she suddenly bumped into something.

At first Red was confused, but then her eyes widened to see that she was looking into a mirror. She was in a giant mirror box? Well, Red was not afraid of herself… so then… what was this?

"Hello dearie!" Red whipped around at the feeble voice of an elderly woman. At first she could not find the source, but then she saw the sillouete of a woman in a wheelchair. Red warily walked forwards, and she reached into her apron to yank out her knife.

It was gone.

"H-hello?" Red called to the woman, who was being eerily still.

"Hello dear, come closer!"

Red began to walk forwards but suddenly two gusts of wind rushed past her, and in the mirror in front of her two children appeared. The old woman hugged them happily, and Red did not know what was so scary about this.

Red finally was able to see the crowd of people. There were two very young children and a happy looking, old woman. Red surveyed the children first. One had sleek black hair and stunning blue eyes. Another was… wearing… a mask? No… a SCARECROW mask.

However, the Scarecrow one was a girl. Red realized they must be this woman's grandchildren. Now Red felt compared to look closer at the woman. The woman was in a wheelchair and she wore a long red dress with a red hair bonnet.

Red realized just how pretty the woman was, despite her age. She had heart shaped lips and a childish gleam in her eyes, with long black hair that shone in the sun.

And she had golden eyes.

Red stumbled backwards, and opened her mouth to scream when the children disappeared and just left the woman looking lonely and her happy look turned sad. She looked around like she was confused then began to weep.

An adult voice and a child's voice filled the mirror room. Red was backing away frantically from the woman.

"Momma, why is Grandma at the doctors?" a little girl's voice asked, and Red guessed it was the voice of the small girl that had been in the mirror earlier.

"Dear… Grandma Red is… sick. She is in the hospital right now because she feels icky…" the woman sounded heavy with grief, and then the child's voice was gone. Now it was just the woman Red could not see and a man she could not see.

The eerie sound of a ringing phone filled the room, and then a man's voice:

"Hello? Oh! Doctor Quinn… Is she okay- Oh… Y-Yes… I can tell my wife. She has been expecting it."

"What is it?" the woman asked, sounding worried.

"She's gone."

Red screamed her voice back she screamed loud and long. "NO! I-I'm not old! I'm not dead! NO!"

She looked up to see the old woman rolling towards her with her head lolling to one side.

"Hello dearie…" she croaked, and her black hair covered her face.

"NO! I AM NOT YOU! I WON'T GET OLD! GET AWAY FROM ME!" but the woman just kept walking forwards. Red turned and began to run away, but she ran into another mirror wall. "NO!"

The woman was gaining closer, and began to cackle loudly. "Dearie, it's not so bad… being dead…"

Red screamed one last time before she suddenly felt coldness envelop her limbs and an uncomfortable fabric covering her body. Pain seared in her head and she dropped to the ground. The old woman faded, like a broken hologram and then disappeared.

Red gasped and shot up, her hair sticking to her face and her golden eyes wide. She felt out of breath, like she had been screaming. Goosebumps covered her skin and she was shaking so bad she felt a little sick.

Looking around, she saw she was in a small, concrete room with a cot and a shelf on the other side. She wore a blue jumpsuit and it was very, very cold. Her head pounded. Probably from screaming repeatedly.

"Where…?" but Red did not finish her sentence. There was a plexi-glass wall on the other side of the room across from the foot of her cot, and she scowled.

She was in Arkham Asylum. Arkham…

Somehow, this relieved her. Arkham was… well, it was like a home that she never really wanted to return to… but it was home.

A familiar voice came from across the hall, in the cell across from her. "Little Red?"

Red shook her head dizzily, swaying slightly in place from the motion. After the fuzziness of moving cleared Red nodded at the voice, unable to focus on the figure at the moment.

"Crane, could you not have gone slightly gentler on the fear toxin? Honestly, she looks awful." Red blinked at the voice and then another goofier, cheery one came from the cell next to the one across the hall.

"I GOT IT! The RED Queen! Precisely what I have been looking for! She is the Red Queen, yes?"

"Shut up Hatter. And Riddler, you too. She kicked me around three times. Her own fault…" But the tone was not very convincing. Red recognized that one was Crow-face. He sounded shaken. "By the way, I know what she is afraid of now, just in case we need to use it-"

"We won't need to use it!" Hatter squealed, and Red heard Riddler was tapping his foot angrily in his cell. "The Queen is our friend!"

"The Queen?" A soft woman's voice came from the cell beside Red's. Must be Ivy, because Harley wasn't there.

"I just explained she is the Red Queen!" Hatter grumped.

"C-Crow-face?" Red managed to finally speak, her head whirring. "I…I hate you SO much…" and she blacked out, falling backwards.

After read was unconscious, Riddler gave a look to Scarecrow and shook his head. "Told you so."

**So Red is afraid of the following for those of you who want it plain and simple- One, loosing those she loves; two, being a slave again; three, becoming elderly and passing away.**


	14. The Chase

Red finally woke up for good as the guard woke her up by yanking her from her cot. She protested and limply fell to the ground, but he ignored her and picked her up again, yanking her to the cafeteria.

"Frank. Just let me go back to my cell." Red snapped angrily, but the man shook his head apologetically.

"Sorry, Professor Young's orders that you eat before your session with her." Frank shrugged and continued to drag the weak looking girl to the cafeteria. "What made you all loopy anyways?"

"Loopy?" she sounded generally curious, and Frank was a little happy to be able to talk to a patient who wasn't non-stop sarcastic.

"Uh… You were screaming. And crying."

"Oh… Fear toxin." Red peeped simply, not saying that Crow-face might still have some on him at this moment. She wanted to be able to escape soon.

Truly, she didn't care about how Riddler wanted her safe from Joker. She wanted OUT. NOW.

"Then I get to change first." She griped, looking down at her jumpsuit. "I kept my dress jumpsuit hidden in a hole with a replaceable brick in the wall. I want to go."

Frank thought about it, knowing this was NOT a good idea… but if he didn't let her he would never know where the secret compartment in her cell was and he would not know where to fix it. "Fine. Let's go."

He dragged her back to her cell and she reached under her bed. As she reached she heard the click of someone loading a gun. Surprised, she looked up with wide, childish eyes. Frank had a gun pointed to her.

"Uhm… The gun?"

"Regulations. I have no idea if you don't have a weapon. "Frank shrugged, pointing the gun at her head.

"Rude." Red snapped and stuck out her tongue like a child, pulling out a loose cinderblock in the wall and reaching into her secret chamber, pulling out the familiar, blue dress and pulled it out, replacing the block and returning from under her cot. "Hey, if you have them close up the hole, can they PLEASE do it while I am in lunch?"

"Why?" Frank was suddenly suspicious.

"Because last time they did that to HATTER it kept him and everyone up all night while they took their sweet time." She hissed, remembering it clearly.

"I can ask, but you're pushing your luck. They never trust patients in C-block. Your crazy-"

"Again, rude. That isn't helping my 'recovery' much, is it Mr. Macho Man Guard?" Red narrowed her eyes, hugging her dress tightly to her chest. "Now can you at least TURN around while I change, because you give us NO privacy here?"

He turned and Red made sure that all the cells around her where empty and there were no guards in the hall as she got undressed then dressed again as quickly as possible. When she was done she admired the Lolita like dress as she twirled around.

"You take too long, like my daughter." Frank griped, and Red decided to mess with him because he was annoying her.

"A daughter, huh? Hmm… Maybe I could pay her a visit when I get out of here. A play-date!" Red giggled in that threatening way that made Frank's skin crawl and his stomach twist. He whirled around and pointed his gun at her again.

"Get out here." His eyes where no longer calm and Red shrugged, putting her hands up she smirked and muttered as she stepped out.

"Ohh, you going to spank me?"

"Shut up, and get walking." Frank growled and nudged her with the nuzzle of his gun. She stumbled forwards and nearly cursed at him. However, that was not how she was getting out of here. No use in starting trouble.

As they neared the cafeteria Red sighed. "Why does the food taste like pig slop?" she asked in a way that would seem polite if the words weren't rude.

"You were caught at a good day. The patients where all on their best manners, so they got one pizza day."

"No way! We ordered pizza? Yes!" she sounded like a six year old who had eaten nothing but spinach for the entire month. She sped up slightly to get into the cafeteria. Frank, in turn, had to speed up also.

"Slow down!" suddenly Red did several cartwheels and broke into a sprint forward, just to mess with Frank. JUST to see if he would fire his gun.

"STOP!" Red stopped for a moment- but then just as he caught up to her she did another cartwheel and ran again. He growled and aimed the gun. He didn't want to, but regulations are regulations-

The bullet whirred just past Red's head and bounced off the wall. She gasped in relief, but just yelled. "Run, run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me! I'm the… little girl in a hood!"

"Red, stop! I don't want to shoot you!"

"Then don't, silly pumpkin head!" Red giggled like a small child playing a game, and she noted that the cafeteria doors where just ahead.

Suddenly two bigger people stepped from the shadows, and Red gasped. "Can't catch me!" she snapped at the two guards who joined Frank. They also pulled out guns. Geez. Trigger happy fools.

"Stop her! Stop her!" the guards where now screaming and even MORE guards joined them.

"Move it, chubs!" Red grabbed a fat guard's shoulder and did a flip from them, never loosing pace. The man, shaken, at first did not realize what had happened. But then he was angry.

"Did she just call me fat? SHE CALLED ME FAT!" He too joined the chase.

In the cafeteria, Riddler looked up from his pizza, which was so good at the moment after animal feed (As it seemed) he refused to set it down. "Did you just hear someone say that someone called them fat?"

Scarecrow hung his head. "Damn it Red!" He knew immediately who it was. "She can't just stay out of trouble?"

Hatter looked up. "And the Red Queen's people will rebel against her." He quotes just as Red burst through the doors, followed to close to ten guards.

One guard threw himself at her, and she gasped, ducking behind a table. He slid right across the tabletop and flew off, smashing into the ground several feet away.

Red gasped and rushed over to him, holding out a hand. "You okay Mister?" The object of this game was not to harm them. It was to get into their un-working brains, to plant a seed that will make them fear her. Label her unpredictable and be weaker the next time they faced her.

The man looked absolutely shocked, and suddenly she was grabbed around the scruff of her dress and lifted off the ground from behind.

"Got you, you little bit-"

"Swearing at children?" Riddler tsk-tsked. "Really I thought even you morons knew that teaching children swear words was not right… but then again… you ARE morons." He shrugged and took another bite of pizza.

The large male guard literally spat at Riddler in disrespect, and Riddler smoothly dodged it.

"Primitive Neanderthal."

Red, who was now lifted off the ground, was wriggling uncomfortably, her eyebrows furrowed. "Oh, no fair!" she crossed her arms, not fidgeting. "You cheated! You cheat!"

The man who she had tried to help off the floor scrambled up and muttered, "Jim, put her down. She's only a child-"

"Don't you try to tell me what to do!" Jim roared at him.

Frank growled. "You two stop fighting and shut the hell up!" he got in Red's face. "What the HELL did you think you were doing?"

Red pretended to zip her lips and throw away the key.

"TELL ME-"

"Frank, I do not believe that when I told you to have Miss Red eat before my session, that suspending her in the air by the collar of her dress and screaming at her is what I asked." Red looked sideways to see a pretty woman with auburn hair pulled back into a bun and brown eyes under a pair of glasses looking at them with a frown etched into her features.

"Doctor Younge!" Frank elbowed Jim, who immediately dropped Red. "No, you see, she ran off and-"

"Why did I hear gun shots, Frank?" she adjusted her glasses. Frank looked like he was shaking, and Red giggled. He shot her a glare.

"Well, regulations-"

"I don't frankly care about the regulations that your officer gave you, he is a Neanderthal." Dr. Younge hissed in a cold way.

"Thank you!" Riddler threw his arms out in exasperation. "Oh, and they spit too. Don't forget the fact they spit like animals."

Unbelievably, the Doctor nodded in agreement at Riddler. "Spit. Really, you spit at the patients? That is disgusting. Put the girl down, NOW."

The last word boomed around the cafeteria, and Jim immediately set Red on her feet.

"Little Red, go get some pizza. I will make sure to send down my assistant instead of a guard to lead you to our first session."

Red nodded and took off to get pizza without a word, grabbing two slices of cheese and darting to the table. She sat in-between Riddler and Hatter, and across from Scarecrow who she shot a nasty look.

The guards dispersed, shooting her death glares. The doctor left too.

"So WHO was that?" Red asked confusedly, frowning.

Riddler answered first. "Why, that would be Doctor Younge, my dear un-informed girl. She's newer than the other shrinks. Much nicer too."

"Oh… Hey Riddler… Tell me a riddle." Red said absentmindedly, wanting to be faced with a challenge while she ate pizza.

"Alright… Fiddle Dee Diddle, answer my riddle…"


	15. The Man In the Tuxedo

After lunch Red looked up to see a man with a thin nose and wire-brim glasses looking at her expectantly. She stood and bid her friends goodbye, not waving to Scarecrow.

Red looked up at him and frowned. "Hello, Sir."

He smiled at her kindly, and Red decided that when she finally killed everyone in Arkham, she would spare the doctors. They were kind. "Hello, Little Red. I am Doctor Younge's assistant. You can call me-"

"Benjamin?"

He frowned at her, "How did you know-"

"Your name tag." Red raised a brow. "It says Benjamin."

"Oh!" he smiled in an apologetic way that reminded her of Hatter. "Of course! My bad!"

Red nodded, smiling in a false kindness as she followed him out of the cafeteria. Many guards glared at them, and Benjamin frowned. He looked slightly scared.

"I don't like the guards either." Red piped up, only loud enough for him to hear. "You need to have doctors like you and Miss. Younge watch them, the way they treat us."

"Oh?" Benjamin shot them all looks, and then muttered something about 'How could they treat a child like an animal?' He sighed, "Stay close."

Red nodded simply, and began to follow him when the doors on the other end of the hall slammed open.

"Unhand me! There is no need to drag a gentleman like me! I can walk perfectly fine on my own two feet, you know!" A man was being dragged in by no other than Batman and Robin.

Red, not really looking at the man, hid behind the doctor and clutched his lab coat like a child hiding behind her mother. "Don't let them hurt me." She whispered in an innocent child's voice, and Benjamin wrote something down on a notepad he had in his hand; Red guessed it was about her.

As they approached Robin saw her almost immediately, and smiled in relief. The last time he had seen her Scarecrow had been standing over her, and she had been screaming in such an awful way… Just the thought of it made his stomach twist.

"Hey, Red-"

"Robin!" Batman snapped. "You can say hello later. We have things to do, if you can't see!"

Obviously, the man had given Batman a hard time, because he looked irritable. The small, round man with a beak like nose and a top hat also wore a tuxedo.

Suddenly, Red's eyes widened and a huge smile, a REAL smile made her features look to beautiful Robin had to look at her. The grin never faded as she launched herself at the man being dragged by Batman.

Confused, no-one really had time to stop her. Benjamin gasped and backed away slightly, Robin jumped next to her protectively and Batman scowled. No-one knew what was going on.

"PENGUIN!" Red looked like she might choke the man at first- but then she gave him a HUGE hug around the stomach. "Penguin, Penguin, PENGUIN!"

The man gasped for a moment, looking like he was going to be repulsed a random mental patient had hugged his new tuxedo- but as he looked at his face his twisted with confusion and he reached up with a shaky hand, pulling off his small monocle to look at her.

"Konnie-?"

"I-It's Red. Little Red." She hugged him tighter.

"Oh… Well, then … Red, my dear!" he hugged her back and Robin and Batman seemed totally clueless, just watching with dismayed expressions.

"Penguin! Where have you been?" She finally let go of him, sitting criss-crossed like a child at story-time.

"Oh, well…" he placed his Monocle back over his eye. "Same thing…" his eyes brightened with interest. "But… You're the dead one!"

Red blinked, taken back. "I-I'm not dead!" Scarecrow's fear toxin's vision was creeping back.

"Well, I am very surprised! Those fools at Ron's old place seem to think you are."

"What do you mean-"

"Well, I went by there a month ago to check on you two, see if I could buy some product for my trade then. However, those lowly gang members told me that Batman had killed Ron." He suddenly noted she was teary eyes at him just talking about it, and he hugged her again. His tone darkened however, and a scowl twisted on his lips. "Then, they told me that they had… done things… Things no man should ever do… to you."

Red didn't want to think about what they had said. "What did you do?"

"Took care of them…" he noted that Batman was right there, and not to say the full truth.

Finally, Batman interrupted. "Care to explain some things, Penguin?"

"Oh!" Penguin stood and helped Red up too. "Well, you see, this is… My goddaughter!" he smiled in that bird like way.

Robin's jaw seriously just dropped completely open. "Y-Y-You're… huh?"

"You heard me, boy!" Penguin snapped angrily. He did not like repeating himself to those who did not listen the first time.

Red was surveying Penguin. "Did he hurt you?" she sounded like a worried little girl, her eyes wide.

"Not hardly, my dear." Penguin's voice was almost venomous as he glared at Batman. "He brought me here to question me, the usual."

Batman growled, "Both of you step away from each other."

Red growled, but did as she was told. She was so happy to see that a small chunk of her past, the HAPPY part of her past, was still there… But why was Penguin in trouble with Batman? He couldn't be a super villain, like her or Crow-face or Riddler… Could he?

If so, she never would have guessed. Sure, he was a bit of a mobster, but she had never seen him with any of them. Maybe he and Ron had both been protecting her from the violence?

Penguin did a gentlemanly bow to her, and she giggled and curtsied. "I will visit you later."

"I'm not sure-"Benjamin began timidly, but Penguin and Red both shot him a look that made him quiet.

Red took his word and followed Benjamin away to her session with Doctor Younge, and Batman led away Penguin, who looked perplexed.

"I need you to answer questions about where Joker is hiding. I know you have a connection." Batman growled the words as they walked down the hall, out of Red's earshot.

"Ah, but Batman. I am I gentleman of negotiation! So, I have a deal with you. You answer some questions about Red's recent whereabouts to ME, and I can answer some to YOU."


	16. The Interrogation

Batman closed the door in the interrogation room at Arkham behind him, Robin, and Penguin. Practically throwing Penguin into a seat, he sat across from him and Robin leaned against the back wall, his hair covering his eyes.

"Penguin, WHERE is Joker? This is important." He growled. Joker had just swept through the neighborhood that Red had occupied recently, killing just above 20 people. Innocent people.

"Waugh, Waugh, Waugh!" His laugh sounded more like a bird squawk then a laugh, but it most defiantly was a laugh. "You forget what we just spoke about. I want information on my Goddaughter."

Batman narrowed his eyes. "This is more important than-"

"I made a promise to the man YOU killed that I would make sure she stayed safe. Arkham Asylum does not count as safe." Penguin growled now, sick of being yelled at.

"I did not kill Ron-"

"Then YOU are telling me that if YOU have not arrived, Ron would still be dead?" Penguin shot back the answer that he knew Batman could not argue with. "If you had not dropped on that car like a daredevil fool, he would still be alive."

Batman slammed his fist down on the table just in front of Penguin's face, whom nearly fell out of his chair. "I… didn't know." He snarled now, "You want answers? Robin can answer them better than me." He stepped back and Robin looked up, slightly shocked.

"Go on." Batman encouraged Robin, who strolled over and strolled over to the interrogation table.

"Tell me then, 'Robin'. Why is Red in Arkham? How did you find her?"

"Oh… Scarecrow used Fear Toxin against her." Robin said truthfully, but even now both Batman and Robin had no idea WHY Scarecrow had attacked her. He would not admit why no matter how many times Batman him, which was unusual. "We found her… By…" he thought fast, coming up with a half lie. "She was at North Gotham High, pretending to be a normal teenager."

Batman was at Robin's side in seconds. "Now, it's MY turn."

Penguin crossed his arms but did not object, wishing he had a cigar with him. "Go on."

"Where is Joker's hideout?"

"Is that all? I would think you dragged me here for more information than that." Penguin shook his head. "Somewhere in Gotham."

Batman growled irritably, "I don't have the time for this-"

"You're the one who asked such a bland question." Penguin shook his head and adjusted his monocle.

"Fine then, WHERE in Gotham is Joker's hideout?" Batman was getting a headache.

"See? NOW we're talking!" he tipped his hat a little. "Well, I was told not to tell you everything. Oh, but Joker was expecting this. He said to give you a message."

Batman scowled. He hated it when Joker was one step ahead.

"He said, 'Get rid of the Red-Brat and I can turn myself in, thank you!" suddenly Penguin's face twisted. "By RED… does he mean…?"

Batman was just as shocked at this as Penguin and Robin. "Yes, he does. But we have no idea WHY."

Robin was frozen in the back of the room. "He wants… Red… dead?"

Batman nodded, continuing. "And Penguin, you know better than anyone that when Joker want's someone dead he gets what he wants. You have to tell me where he is."

Penguin took out a handkerchief and dotted his forehead, clearing his throat. "Yes, yes… He didn't tell me where exactly. He said something about a carnival in the rundown part of Gotham."

Batman looked at Robin, who stated, "Batman, there are several of those."

"Yes, I know." Batman agreed, pushing away from the table. "Does Little Red know Joker is after her?"

"I have no idea." Robin frowned.

"Then we can wait until she is done with her Session." Penguin got up to leave, and Batman grabbed his collar, yanking him back. "You- If you see Joker again, get as much information as possible."

Penguin nodded. "Under one condition. You keep her safe. I made a promise, you know."

"Yes, I know." Batman said simply, and Penguin trusted him.

"Then you know where to find me." And he waddled from the room.

Robin shook his head, knowing that for Red this battle would be virtually impossible.


	17. The Therapist

As Benjamin led Red outside of the C-Block hallway, into B-Block, then through A-Block, the girl couldn't help but stare at the other patients, whom stared at her.

Some of them commented on her dress, some rudely whistled to her, then some tried to scare her. However, she hummed under her breath and ignored them easily.

They were all pathetic to her—not sane enough to be in the population, but not insane enough to be with the insane. "Rather sad, really." Red thought out loud.

Benjamin turned to her, eyebrows raised above his thin wire glasses. "Did you say something?"

Red shook her head, black hair rippling like a dark wave with the motion. "No, not at all."

Soon they reached the door that led outside—Benjamin stopped in place. "Now, Little Red." He began, stooping down over her. "Promise me you won't do anything… silly… if we try and go outside. There are many men with guns out there."

Red tilted her head; she nodded, but secretly wanted to strangle him. He was talking to her like an idiot—she was not an idiot.

"Of course—do you take me for a loon or something?" the pale girl smirked at her own joke. Benjamin took this seriously, and with one fluid motion pushed open the doors that led to Arkham Island.

Without any warning, Red raced past him out of the doors with her arms outstretched, ready to soak up the sunlight when it touched her. However, instead of sun she was met with a rainy sky and the horrible echo of a gun shot.

Everything happened in slow motion after the piercing shot that exploded into the silent rain. First, Benjamin shouted something Little Red couldn't understand. Second, Red was moving. Her foot slammed down hard on the floor and she threw herself sideways. The bullet exploded into the ground next to her.

When Little Red opened her eyes again, there where at least five little red lights from guns on her head and chest. Slowly, Red got ready to be made into swiss cheese.

"No!" Benjamin was in front of her within seconds; Red blinked, confused. Why would he get in front of a gun for her?

Red couldn't help but gasp a single name—a stupid, girly gasp that made her feel dumb and weak. "Benjamin!"

He smiled back at her as the target lights slowly turned off. "My duty is to protect the patients and help them get better."

Slowly, she helped herself up and scanned the place the lights had come from. Along the open space was many towers, each with one guard whom held a gun.

"Butterfingers!" Red snapped at the guards, the word a venomous hiss. "Watch where you shoot that thing—what If you had shot four eyes over here?" She jutted a finger at Benjamin, and then whispered "Uh, Sorry."

Benjamin shook his head as if to say 'No problem.' Then turned to where across the field there was another heavily guarded entrance.

"What is that?" Red asked, scrambling to her feet and stumbling after him quickly. "Looks creepy."

He just answered with two simple words—yet they bothered her anyways. "Your psychiatrist."

"I didn't sneeze." She joked in a dry tone; he ignored this.

As they approached the steel doors, several guards stepped out of the way and pointed their guns at her while two others pressed a security button he the giant metal jaws opened. It revealed a rather warm looking building, with a lot of offices and stuff that Red found frankly boring.

Benjamin nudged her inside gently, and Red skipped forwards, wishing she could feel the plush white carpet. They walked down the hall in silence before Benjamin stopped.

"Hey," Red began to thank him—but couldn't. She just couldn't. "Can I call you Benny?"

He sighed, "That's what the Joker calls me, so yes you may."

"Goodie!" she giggled, and he pushed open a blue door for her to step inside. Without looking what was beyond the door, she did so.

It was then that the door slammed behind her, and Red found herself staring at a woman sitting at her desk, the same woman who had helped her in the cafeteria. "Little Red, would you please take a seat?"

Red gulped, sitting timidly before scanning Dr. Younge's office and adding with a slight hint of disgust, "Why is there so much BLUE in here?"

Kindly, the woman muttered "It's my favorite color."

Already, Red liked her a lot less.

**~Later~**

Guards hurled Red back into her cell, and she whimpered as her legs failed her, and the small girl smacked face first onto the cold cement flooring. "Look, tell her I'm really sorry, I just-"

They had already closed the thick door, and Red sighed. She had scratches all over her arms and legs, blood trickling from her scalp to her nose and skinned knees.

Oh, how the guards loved to get the chance to club her.

There was silence, everyone else being at lunch around this time as Red sat alone in her cell, starring at the wall.

"Little Red."

The strong, deep voice that came from the shadows behind her made Red jump nearly out of her stockings. "Ack!" her eyes adjusted, and then narrowed. "You REALLY can't just go COMING OUT OF THE SHADOWS at folks like that!"

Batman stepped silently from the darkness of her cell, and noticed immediately that just because her words where light that Red was dangerous. Robin spilled from them too, rushing to her.

"Rou-" he realized his error and corrected it. "Red, are you okay? What happened?"

Red sighed, allowing him to help her up onto her feet. "I-It wasn't my fault… I just sorta lost control and-"

Batman's voice was quick and impatient. "What happened, Red?"

"Well then, bossy-pants." She snapped, before turning away. "Dr. Younge made me mad. That's IT."

"Is she hurt, Red?"

"No, _Robin_," she spat the word at him like an insult. "She's fine. It's me that the guards leapt on, not her."

"Oh…"

Batman interjected himself in immediately. "They beat you this badly? You must have looked dangerous."

"Don't test me, Batty."

"Little Red, this is very serious. We need to talk to you NOW."

Just because Batman said something was serious, didn't mean Red believed him.

"Yeah, why? Your cape on backwards?"

Robin blurted the words before Batman could ask—"Red, did you know that Joker want's you dead?"

She blinked for a moment—then gritted her teeth. "Yeah, so what?"

"This isn't a GAME, Red." Batman growled with more ferocity than Red had seen before. "Joker is a dangerous criminal, who has a long history of violence."

"Trust me, Capes, I know that!" Red's voice came out with a hysterical edge, and her tone shot up three octives. "He's a freaking KILLER CLOWN, for god's sake! I KNOW THAT."

There was silence as Batman let Red gather herself, then what she said surprised him.

Red simply pushed away from Robin, tucked several strands of sleek black hair behind her right ear, clenched her small fists and growled in a low, guttural voice "But trust me on this—I am much, much worse. And I will kill him at any cost."

**WOAH! SHE ISN'T DEAD! ^.^ yeah, I know. It's been forever. But I've been driven MAD with work from school. So bear with me, RED SHALL RISE! Plus, remember guys! REVIEWS are my FUEL! I run on them!**


	18. The Arguements

"You foolish girl!"

"After I used fear toxin on you?"

"B-But Iracebeth!"

Red raised a brow, hands on her hips. "Iracebeth?"

The Hatter wrung his hands, looking from the side to side and biting his lip. "The name of the Queen of Hearts—That's YOU, My Dear. Oh, my. Oh, my, my, my. Absolum? What are we to do?

Riddler glared at Red, then to Hatter. "Stop calling me Absolum, you twit." His sharp gaze re-focused on Red quickly, scowling. "If you leave Arkham, there is no way you are going to be safe!"

"Well, that's MY business!" Red stuck out her tongue childishly, eyebrows furrowed.

"It isn't, you small insolent creature!" Scarecrow was looming over Red, and her eyes widened incredulously.

"Crane?" Hatter squeaked, trembling behind his hat.

Crane was silent for a moment, before she heard him swallow behind his mask and he growled in an unsure voice. "I am NOT finished with my experiments on you, Little Red. I have studying to do."

Red stepped back from him, a scowl twisting onto her lips. "Never again will you speak of my fears, Crow-face."

"Keep it down, you two!" Everyone turned to see Poison sitting alone at her table, smooth voice agitated and green eyes glinting. "The guards are looking."

Red looked out of the corner of her eye to see Frank pointing at them, looking suspicious.

"Sit down!" Ivy urged again, and Scarecrow obeyed, followed by Red as they both plopped down at their own table.

Riddler sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose to concentrate. "So then, let me get this straight. Batman is allowing Penguin to get you out of here, if you continue taking therapy at his ice berg or cave or whatever he lives in?"

Red nodded, refusing to look at Scarecrow with her chin held high.

"You are making it incredibly hard for me to outsmart that clown…" Riddler growled slightly, frowning quizzically.

"Outsmart him?"

"He betrayed some of us at that mansion. It ruined his plans, having some of the others see them assaulting you. He thought it would be simple and you would still be asleep, if my facts are correct." Riddler looked at Scarecrow for the briefest of moments, then back at the table to think. "I only like playing fair puzzles, you see."

Red was silent, busy glaring at Scarecrow. "I can only imagine what everyone thought of the people who attacked me."

Scarecrow looked like he was about to protest, but then Red stood and turned her back on him. "Anyways, I have to go. Robin said he would be waiting for me, because Penguins caught up with Batman trying to find Joker."

"Don't go!" Hatter was shaking his head furiously, clutching the brim of his hat. "What'll we do without a Queen?"

Riddler just shook his head, looking beaten and pissed about it. Red cleared her throat and he looked up to glare at her expectantly for an apology, but then a big hand roughly grabbed her shoulder.

"Frank." Scarecrow growled from behind his mask. "How is your wife?"

"Shut it, or we've have you put in solitary confinement!" Frank barked at him, before turning Red and around and marching her from the room.

On the way out, Red caught Ivy's eyes, and saw interest in them. Then she was shoved from the room and the doors slammed behind her.

"After all the trouble you caused, you should be in solitary right now…" Frank grumbled, poking Red along with a handgun.

"Oh, boo-hoo." Red snapped, hardly in the mood to deal with Frank. She was still pondering Scarecrows reaction to her telling them about her leaving. He had said that he still wanted to see her fears. He had been so angry.

She wanted to punch him in the face.

"Hey, Frank? Can I run back to the lunch room?"

Frank raised a brow, tone skeptical. "Why? 

"To punch Crane." She shrugged indifferently, crossing her arms.

Unbelievably, Frank began to chuckle. "Why is that?"

"I don't feel like explaining!"

"Explaining what?" Red turned to see a pair of bright blue eyes focused on her.

Red crossed her arms again, raising her chin into a pout. "Robin."

Robin sighed, scratching his head and frowning. "O-Okay then Frank, I can take her from here."

Frank nodded gruffly, and then turned to rush back to the cafeteria before the end of the lunch time. Red watched him squirm along with disgust for a moment before shaking her head and turning back to Robin—Just in time for him to slap some kind of device around her neck, locking it before she had time to react.

"W-What the hell?" She clawed at the abject, trying to pry it off, but only ended up choking herself and let go.

"Sorry, Rou- I mean, Red." Tim frowned, not looking too pleased. "Batman's orders. In case you try and escape, it'll give you a shock."

Red just stomped past him, only to realize she didn't really know where she was going and stopping, scarlet faced with embarrassment as Robin walked up and chuckled at her, patting her on the head before taking the lead.

They walked for several minutes in silence before Robin finally cleared his throat and spoke up. "So… How's… therapy going?"

"Peachy."

"Doesn't sound too peachy."

Red sarcastically clapped her hands in awe. "Well GEE detective, you don't say!"

"What's wrong with you, Red?"

"You know what's wrong, ROBIN." Red shot him an ice cold glare, and then Robin was silent until they stepped out of the Arkham building into the large sniper infested yard. However, instead of going to the therapy buildings they made their way to the huge black iron gate to the North of Arkham institute.

It was crazy how they just let Robin waltz past with Red behind him; no security bothered them or anything.

Robin opened the Bat mobile door for her, but she just shook her head until he got in the front seat. Then she stepped in herself, scowling.

It was silent in the car, and Red took several quick glances at Robin when he wasn't paying attention.

He was staring straight ahead, deep in thought, eyebrows furrowed and hands clutching the wheels. He was frowning, which was weird. Red had only seen him really frown a couple times.

"Why are you angry with me?" His blue eyes snapped over just as Red's tried to sneak a peek, meeting.

"You lied to me." She didn't hesitate, voice a growl. "Then you turned me in."

"You lied to me too." Robin's voice was raised slightly, but not quite a yell. Urgent, really. "And Scarecrow was attacking you. I didn't know what was happening. Batman said we bring you to Arkham, and they could help you there."

Red paused for a moment, taken back by his counter-accusations. "Crow-face wasn't attacking me, he's just an idiot."

"Oh, so you're all buddy-buddy with the crime in Gotham now?"

"Tim, I AM-"

He stopped at a stop light and then turned his eyes on her with all of their intensity. She couldn't meet them, even if she tried, and kept avoiding his gaze. "We're going to help you!"

Red stopped mid-insult to think about what he had said, and it was silent again for a long time. Red watched buildings and trees slip by her window, touching the glass gently.

"We're almost there." Robin sighed, sounding wary. "The Iceberg Lounge is just up ahead."

Red looked up and nonetheless a huge building made to look like a huge chunk of arctic ice loomed over the street, casting a shadow down the road and making it several degrees cooler. "Godfather Penguin lives HERE?"

"It's a nightclub as well. Enjoy sleeping in THAT." Red heard a sliver of humor return to Robin's voice as he turned the car off, and the engine shuddered to a heaving stop.

Another long silence as they both just sat in their seats, unsure and lost.

Then, Robin broke the silence yet again. "Red?"

"Hm?"

"Batman said that if you had known that I was Robin, you would have killed me…" He scratched his head, before turning to her with troubled eyes. "That isn't true, is it?"

Red was very still, eyes wide and shocked. The question had taken her off-guard.

_*Yes! Say yes, you insolent child!* _The voice in her head hissed, but she just sat there, like a deer in headlights.

Why couldn't she just answer? What was making this so difficult?

"I... I, Uhm…"

There was a crisp knocking on the window, and Red nearly jumped out of her skin when she turned to see Batman just outside of the glass, face impassive. "Come on Red, time to get inside."

The door opened for her, and Red stepped outside shakily. She could feel Robin looking at her, even now as she stepped past Batman.

"Penguin!" Her spirits lifted all at once to see the round man standing there expectantly, smoking a cigar.

"Wuagh! Wuagh! Wuagh!" He laughed throatily, embracing the girl as she skipped to his side. However, then Batman stepped forwards and he was all business. "So then, you will be surveying the club?"

"Yes. You can't let her leave, take that collar off, or skip a therapy session, or it's back to Arkham. Understand?"

"Wuagh! Don't insult me Batman; I hear everything correctly the first time." Penguin fiddled with his cigar before turning away from the Bat mobile. "Come, dear. Let's get you inside and situated. There's an underground soundproof room that I…" His voice trailed off as he led Red into the iceberg lounge, leaving Robin to just stare.

"Robin." Batman frowned to him, voice stern. "I'm driving."

"O-Oh, right…"

"Robin?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't let your feelings get in front of your job." He buckled in and shut the door beside him, turning the key and letting the car rumble and purr to life. "You're a hero, remember that. She's a villain."

Robin sighed deeply and buckled into the passenger seat, staring out the windshield. "Yeah Batman… I know."


End file.
